March 08, 2009

'Battlestar Galactica's' Michael Taylor talks about 'Islanded in a Stream of Stars'

Below is an interview with Michael Taylor, the writer of Friday's "Battlestar Galactica" episode, "Islanded in a Stream of Stars."

Typically the writer of a "Battlestar" episode goes to the show's set when that episode is filmed, however, at the time, Taylor was busy with "Virtuality," a Fox pilot he co-wrote with "Battlestar's" Ron Moore. Michael Angeli, another "Battlestar" writer, went to the set in Taylor's place. So the interview below contains some thoughts from Angeli as well.

Read on to learn how, in my review, I got one fact about "Islanded" spectacularly wrong (in "Islanded," Adama was not reading from "Searider Falcon," as I thought he was. He was reading from another Colonial novel. Doh!). Read on to learn how Angeli met some of his biggest non-fans from Television Without Pity, what was cut from the episode and what Adama may have meant when he talked about sending the Galactica off "in style."

Questions are in bold, answers are in regular type.

What did Edward James Olmos bring to this episode as a director? I think we may have talked about this once before, in a previous interview -- I seem to recall you saying that he has an "instinctive" style.

Taylor: Well, that's probably as good a word as any. As you might expect, Eddie has a great rapport with the actors, and a directing style that comes very much from the gut. He's able to probe beneath the surface of any given scene and tap into the raw welter of emotions undergirding it; it's like he's constantly pushing to find some deeper inchoate something that a sieve of words alone can't trap.

A case in point might be the relatively brief scene between Helo and Athena in the teaser. There was more dialogue in this scene (some of which may well be seen in Eddy's extended director's cut, which I understand will be on the Season 4.5 DVD), but Eddie cut it down to this crucial moment -- a moment, moreover, that was less written than precipitated by the scripted scene.

I talked to Grace Park last night at after a screening we had at Universal, and she told me this was the fruit of a second take -- after a first take that had already been pretty devastating. This one left her so spun around she barely knew what had happened. It's the kind of moment that, as a writer, is both exhilarating and humbling, in that you realize your best stuff was merely a springboard for the actors. And it's the kind of moment that Eddie has routinely been able elicit from this cast.

Angeli: Speaking of rapport with the actors, Eddie’s kinship wasn’t just for the regulars. There’s a scene in which about two dozen extras pose as crew members who are unloading supplies for the fill-the-cracks-with-crazy-glue operation. We had a little down time for some lighting adjustments and I watched Eddie mingle with the extras and show them how to make it look as though you’re lifting something heavy – because the burlap sacks, storage boxes, crates, etc. were really empty. And as he gave them pointers, he spoke directly to each one and you could see what a difference it made in their willingness to embrace who they were; it made them feel valuable – which reveals one other invaluable quality Eddie brings with him: a true, abiding love for the show.

That’s not just Adama mud-wrestling in the paint with his sense of loss. That’s Eddie realizing that all of the excitement, the thrill, the rain, the few gorgeous days of Vancouver sun, the hard work, the good battles, the friendships, the sublime routines, the character he inhabited for almost six years were coming to an end. For that scene Eddie just kept the camera rolling – no takes, until he was spent. There’s been some discussion about Adama already having his meltdown when he discovers that Tigh’s a Cylon. But the nature of these two scenes couldn’t be more different – and both are equally valid.

There were some lovely callbacks to "Sine Qua Non" and "Unfinished Business" in this episode. Were those things you consciously hoped to work in before you sat down to work on the script, or did they just work their way in organically, if you will?

Taylor: I did not set out with any conscious plan, but I think that joint remained pressed between the pages of my subconscious, like Laura's between the pages of her book. And since I believe endings naturally tend to make you reflect back on beginnings, and given that my own beginning on this show was "Unfinished Business," I suspect my mind just naturally drifted back there given the nature of this scene. As I imagine Laura's would.

Is there a lot of material that had to be cut from the episode we saw? If so, what was it about?

Taylor: Yes, there was probably a good deal of material that had to be cut. I say "probably" because it's a long time since I wrote the script, and I am too lazy to revisit it now. I know that there were scenes, or at least one scene, of Tryol in the brig, and I think my sense there was that he had confessed and put himself in there out of guilt.

And there was plenty of other stuff left on the proverbial floor -- scenes that were cut, or just saved down -- as is often the case with these overstuffed episodes, and especially mine, which are stuffed to the point where scenes and characters are always drifting out the seams, like that Six from the rupture in Galactica's hull.

In the end, though, I would say that for the most part episodes (mine, anyway) are better for what by necessity is cut. Though here, at least, there will be a chance to check out what some of those missing bits may have added when Eddie's extended cut comes out on the DVD.

EJO got a great performance out of the child who played Hera, which I'd imagine was difficult, given that she had to cry and be upset in some scenes. How'd he do that?

Taylor: Here, I defer to Mr. Angeli. How'd he do it, Mike? By dangling the carrot of a cupcake or wielding the stick of a morphine injection? Or, as I suspect, by making the girl a prisoner of his dazzling charisma?

Angeli: Eddie had the benefit of a new actress playing Hera. And if I’m not mistaken, the little girl playing her is about 16 months older than the original Hera, who, as adorable as she was seemed to be channeling Betty Davis in “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.”

I wondered what Adama meant when he told Tigh that they would send the Galactica off "in style."

Taylor: Well, I suspect he meant with appropriate pomp and circumstance suitable to the "best ship in the fleet." But then again "style" in Galactica terms usually involves more than empty fireworks and grandiloquent gestures. So I guess we'll see, hmm?

Compared to other "Galactica" scripts you've written, was this one harder or easier to write?

Taylor: Oddly, this one was fairly easy to write. Or at least "relatively" easy. As I recall, Ron's notes on my first draft weren't that extensive, and we essentially ended up shooting that draft with various revisions. It may be that having arrived at this point in the series, there was a sense of inevitability about some of these penultimate encounters between our characters. After everything they've been through, they all seem to feel the need to close the circle, and resolution may ultimately be a neater process than the messy business of traveling that circle in the first place.

Then again, what's past is merely prologue, to paraphrase some other dude, and part of my role here was to prepare the baton for Ron to carry across the finish line. Which may've made my job a little easier (and his that much harder). Sorry if I'm being too, ahem, elliptical.

Angeli: Taylor’s not being elliptical, he’s being modest. The story document for this episode must’ve changed significantly at least three times. After all, this episode was the threshold. By nature, it involved getting the various pieces for the finale in play – which in large part, included the collective state-of-mind of our main characters – which usually means less space porn [i.e. space battles,etc.]

At one point the big disaster with the space-flushed Six occurred in the middle of the story. Mike recognized that he needed to start the story hot and moved it, with great success, to the teaser. Also, Mike would come up with something great and we’d either pull it back into the previous episode or bump it into the finale. It was tough to draw a bead on the window of episode 20, which meant a lot more re-structuring, re-thinking, and acceptance. Taylor did a lot of surfing during the creation of this episode just to get his mind right, Luke.

It seemed to me that the episode revolved around the idea of acceptance -- acceptance of reality and acceptance about what really matters. What are your thoughts on that?

Taylor: Acceptance can suck.

But, then again, I guess it does have its upside. A certain weight is lifted and you are free to act in new ways, make bold moves, arrive at startling epiphanies. Or so, perhaps, we shall see. (Boy, am I having fun being tantalizing -- or at least what passes for tantalizing to my little mind.)

Angeli: When Stands With A Fist Mike says acceptance can suck he speaks without forked tongue. I don’t think I’ve ever known a writer as meticulous and anal as Mr. T. The adjunct to that is control. I don’t think anybody fought a greater war of attrition to hang on to material which he felt worked and worked well (and often, he was right) than Mike T.

Re: ideas, dialogue, William Goldman said you’re supposed to be able to kill your own babies. What Taylor does is stall until they grow up. Ron would laugh at the lengths Taylor would go in order to hang on to something. So, imagine how the poor guy felt -- shuffling between L.A., where he was doing notes on "Virtuality," and shuttling to Florida to address the declining health of his father, who subsequently passed away in September, `08 -- instead of being up in Vancouver and working on his last show?

I greatly enjoyed hearing more from Searider Falcon. Do you have a desire to find a venue in which you could write more from that Colonial novel?

Taylor: Well, I suppose it could well be a book dating back to the time of "Caprica," in which case there might be a chance to hear more of that story as the new series unfolds. Then again, I don't think Adama was, in fact, reading from Searider Falcon, which was introduced by Jane Espenson, and struck me as more of a Robinson Crusoe-like tale.

Groan -- okay, you're gonna force me here to actually look at the damn script... arghh, gotta find it on my hard drive here... click on the icon... skim the pages -- all way too much work for a Saturday afternoon. But yup, looks like I intended Adama to be reading to her from a pulp paperback, and probably a different one than "Love and Bullets," the pulp he read to her from in "The Ties That Bind."

Did the filming of this episode present any unexpected difficulties? Any particular challenges on the set? Any stories you care to share about the making of "Islanded"?

Taylor: Here again I defer to Mr. Angeli, who very kindly offered to be on set while I was off getting high on network pilot fumes (always a risky proposition, I can tell you now).

Angeli: One really tough sequence to nail visually was Baltar’s shaving scene in the head. Eddie wanted Head Six to shave Baltar as he bantered with Kara, nestled on the toilet. We spent a considerable amount of time trying to make it look as though Six was there, but that you couldn’t see her reflection in Baltar’s mirror. Eventually Eddie found the solution in having Baltar shave himself and positioned Head Six at an oblique angle to the mirrors. It was a phenomenal piece of camera work and direction.

As for myself, I felt I owed Mike a phone call on anything we were changing and at the end of the day, all the little things added up. But it worked out – mainly because Mike had the balls to trust his better self.

The other monkey wrench originated from Ron’s better self. He and his terrific wife/best friend, Terry decided to reward a woman who had helped raise money during the writers’ strike by giving her a tour of our sets in Vancouver. She could bring her husband, her son, and a work-related friend with her. Ron intended to give them the tour but got stuck on the "Caprica" set and asked me to fill in.

We had them sign confidentiality statements and as they were doing so, one of our employees overheard the woman and her friend stressing about me, hoping I wouldn’t recognize them as two writers from Television Without Pity who had slammed me as a misogynist hack and a creep who lives out his sex fantasies through the characters (P.S., who doesn’t?). I wanted to say something but they looked so thrilled and grateful to be there and I didn’t want to spoil it for her husband and son so I bit my tongue. Hard.

As it turned out, they were a delight – even though the first thing they wanted to see was one of our dumpsters. Things got really sticky when we got to the set. Eddie was in the middle of shooting the scene where Ellen talks to Tigh and it’s clear that she’s the fifth Cylon.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the woman and her friend trading these looks of complete shock. To their credit, they not only kept Ellen’s identity a secret for over nine months, but they also kept their promise keep to their visit a secret until the finale aired –which had to be harder than the Ellen thing. Best of all, they sent me these really touching thank-you cards, then continued to hammer me on Television Without Pity.

I thought I saw Angeli in the hangar scene, but perhaps I was projecting.

Taylor: You were not projecting. Not even hallucinating, which is more likely, given that you're probably not a Cylon. Mr. Angeli was indeed there, in costume, as a member of Baltar's retinue. You can ask him if joining the cult, however briefly, required any exchange of, um, "favors" with the illustrious Gaius.

Angeli: I had a speaking role, which, alas, didn’t make the final cut. At one point during my sequence, Steve McNutt, our DP yelled cut and singled me out for chewing gum, which the human race stopped doing just before the first Cylon War.

If you have any other thoughts to add, or if you'd rather write about other things as regards "Islanded," please feel free...

Angeli: I landed in a stream of good times, which will be passionately missed for a long time.

Taylor: I have no thoughts. Never really did. It's all just a remarkable illusion, made possible by the fact that for a brief happy time I was a bit of creative flotsam that was lifted high by the great wave that was "Battlestar." And now that I am about to have my brains dashed out on the shore with the rest of my more illustrious fellow writers, cast and crew, I am going to take a last moment to enjoy the view.

So in lieu of coherent thoughts, I leave you with this fanboy mental image of myself, squeezed into a Viper seat for all eternity...

Comments

Mo, what a delight it has been visiting The Watcher before and after a BSG airing. You have done a tremendous job, especially during these last days, rounding-up the creative folk to talk about their experiences on the show. We are all very appreciative. You are a pro, through and through!

I can't believe we are finally reaching the end to this treasure. And since RDM is going to be able to fulfill his vision for this show, it just makes the waiting that much more unnerving--as in, "I really, really, REALLY can't wait!"

Don't know what will take the place of BSG for me. Heroes is a bust. Lost is all over the place, for me, but I still can't stop watching it. Perhaps Dollhouse will get it's act together and emerge as a genuine Wedonesque triumph. Perhaps Caprica will take the BSG mantle and run with it.

I'll just have to keep watching The Watcher for clues. ;-)

Mo here: Thanks for the kind words. I'm not sure what I'll do when BSG ends its run. I'll certainly miss these discussions a whole lot -- the insights and analysis and passion that fans have brought to these discussions has been a high point for me.

I think part of the reason that I was OK with an episode that was, to a degree, a meditation on mortality and the mourning of things that were ending -- well, I'm OK with it because I'm in mourning too.

Just as the characters need to adjust to the reality of their lives and futures, I needed time to adjust to the fact that this show is ending.

Regarding how Galactica is "sent off in style," I think there is a clue if you go back to Hera's scene with the "toy" ships, near the beginning of the episode. I don't think she's ever been in the CIC, nor have I seen her with toy ships, so I think she may have been projecting. Look at what the Galactica toy does in that scene...

Once again, thank you for a great interview!

Mo here: Arial, re your not-for-publication query - no, I don't actually know about that person's current condition, sorry. But I agree with what you said about him.

Mo, I can only repeat what others have said: It's been such a pleasure to read your Battlestar reviews and interviews. I discovered your column just before the start of season 4.5 and it's been must-read on Saturday mornings ever since. So thank you for adding so much to our enjoyment of an epic story.

One question: Once the finale is done and the story is told, will you pick up where you left off in your Great Battlestar Rewatch? I would love to read your take on season 3.

Mo here: It is a great regret of mine that I never finished my notes for the Great Battlestar Rewatch. I got halfway through Season 3 and then my Christmas break ended and I never wrote up all my notes nor finished watching the final 10 eps of Season 3.

I hope to get to it one day. Maybe when I'm having such BSG withdrawal that I simply have to go back and immerse myself in that world?

GalacticaSitrep.blogspot.com reported recently that NBCU is probably going to release the entire series -- presumably with longer cuts of Season 4 episodes -- in July. If that set is in HD you can be sure I'll ask for it for my birthday!

I really felt this was an outstanding episode, and I think you nailed it in your earlier review. Thanks for your writing over the past several weeks, by the way--in a way, you have helped fans like myself walk down the final steps of this journey and come to an acceptance that this is all coming to an end.

Michael Taylor wrote an excellent episode showing the psychological processing of impending death and loss, particularly of the Battlestar itself. Not just in the minds of the characters, but also in the overall tone of the show. I can't wait to see the next and last stage in the journey.

My only quibble with the episode was the scene where Adama breaks down. I hate to admit it, but in spite of being so drawn into the episode, I found myself taking a step back and saying "here we go again with the EJO masterclass in succumbing to grief." Intellectually, it makes perfect sense. His command, his home, his lady, is dying, and he would break down like this and then emerge ready to make the decision he wasn't quite capable of before. This is one of the great things about this character--he's a great leader, but flawed by his humanity--stubborn, perhaps driven more by emotion than he'd care to admit--but he makes it all work by actually hunkering down and facing his emotional turmoil, processing it, and then making better decisions after he has worked through the raw emotionality. If only all leaders took this as an example.

But for some reason, in this particular scene, it just didn't quite feel right, like the story was missing an emotional beat or two where you could ride along with him in his head and feel it rising before it came to the surface. Yes, there were a lot of outward signs (the drinking, the moments with Roslin, etc.), but for some reason, I bounced back during the payoff. Perhaps a scene was cut before then. Or perhaps it's just me.

But overall, I would place this in the top 10 of BSG episodes, which is pretty high praise for a show as consistently great as this one has been.

Mo, if there was any justice (and cross-media collaboration), these post-episode interviews -- and your exhaustive and illuminating coverage throughout Galactica's run -- would be packaged as a corners-free reader along with the final box(ed) set. BSG is only 43 minutes out of the broad beat you cover, and yet you've given us amazing coverage these past few years. Furthermore, you've covered it like a fan, gasping and cheering and crying like the rest of us.

THANK YOU.

Mo here: You're very kind. Just being able to shed a little light on something that's meant a lot to so many folks is enough for me. It has been incredibly fun.

I am in that anger stage of loss. I don't want this series to end. I feel like a big part of season five was all the missing scenes the various writers have mentioned. I suppose that's just dumb-but there it is.
A few months ago I could not have cared less if the show returned. Lost all my enthusiasm, but 4.5 has been a tour de force.
We know now that Galactica is going to get her Old Yeller moment and that will be tough, but I so want these characters to find some peace at journey's end.
Except for Cavil of course, he deserves the wrench to the head and airlock!
How can you do that in 3 hours?

Dear Maureen Ryan,
Your work here is fantabulous, exquisite, a sheer joy to read and I, as some others have noted, make a bee-line straight here after BSG has aired to share in your assiduous re-cap and reviews. Your generousity of making such a huge effort to interview the creative teams also adds so much to a fan's enjoyment of the show, and it speaks volumes about the generousity of the writers and producers who want to engage with us, too.

We just saw "Islanded" and it was months ago for the writers, producers, actors... a lifetime ago. I can't imagine what they've gone through in processing the end of such a creative endeavour, only to "rehash" it again now. Rehash is the wrong word, but maybe it connotates some of the angst I know I would feel in having to go back and re-view, not for my benefit, but for the benefit of others.

WOW. You guys and gals are so awesome, I appreciate everything A LOT.

I came to the BSG party late, it came on after Doctor Who on SciFi and I had to play catch-up via Netflix to get up to date prior to Season 4 starting, it was so painful waiting for Season 4.5, I can't imagine what the waiting must have been like for folks who spent the 6 years in-the-making.

All I can say is: BSG is sheer genius, it deserves so much better than being seen with Frakkin KFC ads slammed/crammed/splashed all over it. iPhone APP ads covering half the screen. It deserves respect, adoration, love and massive hugs. Can't wait for the BluRay dvds, that is how I will be showing my respect, I hope all involved get a decent cut of the proceeds. (That's part of what the writer's strike was about, wasn't it?) As for Dear Mo, I promise to click on all your ads on your blog, or something. You are a peach!

Thanks for all your wonderful blog posts!

Mo here: Thank you!

Those waits between seasons were tough. I am glad you didn't have to go through them! :)

1. I watched Islanded once and it rapidly faded from memory. I am not sure if that had more to do with my state of mind while watching it (no, there weren’t any R/A medicinal herbs involved) or if it was just a so-so episode. As usual, this blog helps bring it back like a repressed Cylon memory.

2. I didn’t need to see the Admiral’s Jackson Pollack meltdown moment. The previous 33 meltdowns were enough to drive the point home. I think if he had just applied a few feeble strokes, paused, thrown down the brush and said “frak it” and got Tigh on the horn and starting barking orders it would have been much more effective at that point. I was glad to see the nice moment with Tigh at the end but Bill’s entry into the “acceptance” phase came one scene too late for me.

3. Kara’s moment on the throne was a nice touch. “The latch is broken” – could anything better convey the idea that Galactica is beyond repair? Reminded me of a couple of bad dive-bar experiences I’ve had.

4. I thought Sam was going to get hooked into Galactica like a hybrid. My guess is whatever control he has of the ship will be part of the surprise party the Admiral throws for Cavil.

5. Hera’s drawing might be some kind of star chart or maybe a jump sequence. Were there 5 dots?

6. “That looks like Jupiter” flashed through my head too. However, that wasn’t Boomer’s last jump anyway, was it?

7. I can’t give the writers and producers a free pass for the disjointed nature of the episodes since the mutiny. There have been some fine moments, to be sure, but I disagree with those who say that after the finale they will fall into place. Deadlock will still be an aberration, we still should have seen the reason behind giving Baltar guns (and had that addressed in some way since), Tyrol should not have been cut from Islanded in favor of the predictable moment where the Six saves the human from death-by-vacuum etc. One thing that the writer interviews have revealed is that they were working in isolated silos a lot of the time and Moore’s guiding hand has not quite been able to put the disparate voices together. Continuity has suffered from this writing and producing methodology. In all fairness, the strike and the fact that the series was ending and they all had one foot out of the boat trying get employed elsewhere probably had something to do with it also.

8. Since I sound like a whiner, let me just say that BSG is one of the best shows I have ever watched, period. Science fiction is one of my favorite genres and there have been so few examples of good science fiction or fantasy on TV and film which for me elevates BSG even higher.

9. This episode brought to mind another lyric from Watchtower – “But you and I we’ve been through that, and this is not our fate. So let us not talk falsely now. The hour is getting late.” Many of the scenes involved characters with long histories together coming to that realization, letting go of certain things and acknowledging and accepting others. Clearing the decks for action, perhaps.

I have been reading your column for a very long time now. I don't comment very often, especially in the early days, but these interviews that you have brought to us in these closing weeks deserve special attention.

Thank you for all you have done to keep the fires burning, Mo. These days are going to pass too quickly but at least we will always be able to visit these pages in the archives.

Great interview as usual, Mo -- I may miss these as much as BSG itself. I'm always famished for insightful commentary after an episode is over, and fan-to-fan forum chatter doesn't always fulfill.

I can't say I understand the resistance to Adama's whitewash meltdown here. Angeli's point that it's entirely different from the one in "Revelations" is well taken; while I prefer to think of all of them -- plus Bill's boozing, pill-popping, and general self-loathing -- as one long, multi-stage emotional breakdown, the "Islanded" scene had a cathartic finality to it -- Adama's version of Kara slipping her photo between Kat's and Dualla's, maybe. Hopefully, for his sake.

Either way, all such scenes struck me as psychologically sound. Maybe people's discomfort in watching them is less because of perceived narrative repetition than from seeing such a solid, strong figure come apart at the seams. But it happens.

Sigh -- is the show really almost over? Not sure how I'm going to cope...

Mo here: how to cope? Pretend it's not happening, of course! That's the healthiest way ;)

"There’s been some discussion about Adama already having his meltdown when he discovers that Tigh’s a Cylon. But the nature of these two scenes couldn’t be more different – and both are equally valid."

If ever, there was a group of producers more eager to validate their own work instead of letting it speak for itself, it's the Battlestar writing team. I mean, they seem like nice enough people, but yeesh.

And by the way, it was the third meltdown at least. Don't forget the attempted suicide-by-Tigh attempt.

I've been loving this series of interviews and thank you very much for doing them. It's always amazing to me how much work goes into each episode, and I'm always impressed by how much the people involved remember. It's been a while, and yet the recall of details is right there.

Speaking of perfect recall -- Michael Angeli made a comment about a couple of fans from TWoP who were allowed to visit the set because of some writer's strike support stuff. That would be me, my husband, my son, and my friend.

I've always wanted an opportunity to thank Angeli publicly and here it is: Thank you, you were absolutely marvelous. I have roasted your writing, both before and afterward, but you were the soul of graciousness to us. I sincerely liked things you've written, and have been equally vocal about that.

The fact that you know is hilarious, and yeah, we were nervous about that. We embraced Avoidance, made it our mascot, and ended up truly loving the hell out of you. Thank you for your time, and for being the best sport imaginable.

You're a lovely man. I may continue to take shots at your writing -- although I loved your last episode for the series, and went on about that too -- but I'd tell anyone that I think you're a lovely human being, and you hereby have a public apology for anything I ever said that implied anything other than that. I was wrong, and I apologize.

You've got a good sense of humor too. Thanks for not decking me on top of being endlessly patient, and generous with your time.

Aside to Maureen Ryan: Thank you for all the great support you've shown Battlestar over the entire run. You aren't a fair weather fan, that's for sure. One of the things I'll miss about the show is the articles you put forth.

Listen, I couldn't find an email addy for you but I was wondering if a) you would not put this particular entry up for public consumption meaning this one, the prior one is absolutely for public consumption b) presumably you have an email addy for Michael Angeli. Would you mind throwing the comment I made his way, please?

I really have wanted to thank him for a long time. We sent thank you notes but it always felt a tad peculiar, I knew darned well that I wasn't a particular fan of his writing, but loved him after having an opportunity to meet him. It always felt strange that I knew that, and he didn't. Basically, I wasn't able to say, "Holy Sweet Lords of Mercy, I was incredibly wrong about you and words fail to convey how much I mean that." because...uh...rude! When I thought he had no clue that I'd said some pretty choice things, it felt like it would be rude to draw attention to it.

However, since he knew? I finally have that opportunity. If it is within your means to do throw that his way in an email, I'd be very appreciative. He was incredibly kind to us, and it's even more remarkable considering that he had some reasons to want to kick me swiftly in the shins.

Thanks, if you are unable to direct it to him, don't sweat it :-) I just thought I'd ask.

I Google-landed at this site after watching the "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" episode, and being so blown away by the amazingly exceptional quality of work that this show now achieves routinely, as BSG winds down into its final episodes. I am witnessing a fierce and blinding brilliance as the show's collective talent rapidly accelerates through its final stage of compression and emerges as full Super-Nova!

The joy of knowing what a long strange trip it has been for science fiction on television to reach this pinacle of artistic achievement so overwhelmed me, that it literally brought tears to my eyes. As I reminisced about how, over the years going back to the Star Trek of late 60's, when I march with my 500 fellow Caltech Trekkies outside NBC's Burbank studios, I came to realize how much I have always cherished those special science fiction creations that were able to raise a few serious issues and force some engagement with the tough questions about just what it means to be a human being. That night in Burbank, we were desperate to hang on to our one shining light of a good TV SciFi show. To imagine the extent to which SciFi has now come to be such a dominating force in the relam of television and movie productions back then was unthinkable. But even more unthinkable would have been to imagine the stellar level of production acheivement we are all witnessing with the unfolding of BSG's final episodes. I am so moved in my appreciation of the collective efforts given by every single contributor, at every level, to the creation of the BSG series, that I just had to give voice to these feelings and hope they will somehow reach those who most deserve to hear this praise. May you all move on to equally amazing and inspiring projects. All the Best!
-RRLedford

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